Businesses making sustainable menswear, electric motorcycles and exquisite cakes are getting a boost thanks to grants from the City of Melbourne.
We support businesses that bring innovation, diversity and economic opportunities to our city and neighbourhoods.
Applications for the next round of our Small Business Grants program are open from 20 August to 24 September 2024. In total, there’s $700,000 up for grabs across four streams: Open (a category that welcomes all new or existing small businesses), Shopfront Occupancy, Social Enterprise and Circular Economy.
Do you have an idea that will help your business start, grow, innovate or give back? For inspiration, here’s a quick snapshot of some of the great work being done by previous grant winners.
New flagship store for sustainable menswear brand
Christian Kimber is a Melbourne-grown business and proudly one of a handful of luxury, ready-to-wear menswear labels designed locally. The brand promotes sustainability and responsible consumption.
We provided a grant to fit out its flagship store at a prominent CBD location: 149 Little Collins Street, which will welcome locals and visitors as the brand seeks to “redefine the modern Australian menswear aesthetic”.
“Melbourne is not only our home, but our inspiration for the label in terms of lifestyle, so having our flagship store in the middle of the city is simply authentic to us,” Christian said.
“We offer in-house tailoring services to cater to our city-worker clientele and have created spaces where they can plan, be fitted for, and even enjoy their garments in a social setting.”
Christian said the grant received from the City of Melbourne enabled his team to pursue its vision for the flagship store “without exception” – engaging a leading designer to create something unique.
“Our ambition is to represent the very best of Melbourne in terms of our design, quality and experience,” Christian said.
“This new flagship store in the CBD is the culmination of the past seven years of product, brand and business development and we couldn't be more proud to have been able to bring it to life in the most beautiful city in the world.”
Electric motorcycles on show
A thrilling, zero-carbon transport future is the vision of Australian design and production company Savic Motorcycles, a team that’s proud to be located in the “heartland” of Australia’s automotive industry.
“Melbourne is where the first Australian car was built in 1901, and the centre of manufacturing by Holden, Toyota and Ford for over 100 years,” said Alexandra Bromley, Savic’s Chief Marketing Officer.
“Being in Melbourne has given us access to the city’s rich variety of engineering and training talent, including Bosch with whom we developed our anti-lock braking system, RMIT University who we’ve supported with mentoring for over 10 engineering students’ projects, and the Kangan Institute, which we supply with high-voltage battery components for their EV maintenance program.”
Savic Motorcycles built its first workshop and assembly line in West Melbourne. The small business grant will help the team fast-track the fit-out of its flagship showroom, which they hope will open to the public by the end of 2024.
“The showroom will act as a destination for the Savic Motorcycles brand, enabling visitors to see and test ride our high-performance electric motorcycles, as well as shopping for our branded clothing and other partner merchandise,” Alexandra said.
Hospitality training and employment for young people at risk
For Change Co. – an organisation that supports young people out of the cycle of homelessness through employment and training in coffee making – will expand its operations with a City of Melbourne grant.
The new ‘Catering for Change’ program will include a kitchen and cooking module as paid, on-the-job training for young people living in the city who are at-risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
“We believe in giving every young person the opportunity to thrive, and we believe in work as a key tool to empowering young people along their journey towards independence and out of the cycle of homelessness,” said Tenille Gilbert, Co-Founder and Managing Director at For Change Co.
“As a social enterprise, we create trading streams that also provide opportunities for the young people we support to take part in training and employment programs.
"Catering for Change will create more revenue for our organisation (with 100 per cent of profits going directly into our impact), create more training and employment opportunities for young people, and invite more of the community to directly contribute towards the essential work of supporting local young people out of the cycle of homelessness.”
Thriving cake business upgrades and expands
Drop by Le Yeahllow specialty cake shops in South Yarra and the CBD to browse stunning celebration cakes, individual cakes and handcrafted pastries.
The small business grant will help the Le Yeahllow team rebuild their website, upgrade their operational technology and improve their seating to give customers a better dining experience.
“Le Yeahllow began in South Yarra and expanded to Melbourne CBD last year,” said founder Samsky Yeung.
“It's been wonderful to contribute to our lovely city and help attract more visitors to the CBD. Travellers can now reach us more easily, making it more convenient for everyone to enjoy what Melbourne and Le Yeahllow have to offer.”
Pedalling towards a brighter future
Brainwave Bikes sees potential in every abandoned bike – refurbishing, retailing and donating bikes from their shop at Queen Victoria Market. It’s a pop-up they hope to make more permanent with their grant.
The Brainwave team is passionate about saving bikes from landfill, matching upcycled bikes with city commuters, paying it forward to people in need and providing employment for people with disability.
"We accept all bikes. Even if they're covered in dust or rust, we can still find value in it. If we can get the bikes sooner, we’ve got a better chance of refurbishing them,” General Manager Kieran McMahon said.
“We estimate we only collect about 10 per cent of the bikes discarded in Melbourne. The goal is to make sure we’re the point of intervention for all discarded bikes in Melbourne.”
To learn more about Brainwave Bikes, read Social entrepreneurs who make the world a better place.
Wraparound support for migrant women with big dreams
Professional Migrant Women is a volunteer-run organisation that provides support, resources and opportunities to foster growth and development for migrant women. The team will use its grant to develop a new digital platform.
Lina Orozco Múnera, who came to Melbourne from Colombia, reflected on her first encounter with the Professional Migrant Women community:
“We were from all over the world, but our struggles and insecurities were the same: loneliness, missing family, not having a network, feeling like we’re not good enough and fearing that our English wouldn’t be understood,” Lina said.
“It was so nice to be among women who’d been in my shoes. There was real empathy, positivity and understanding. We lifted each other up. I met some of my closest friends in that room.”
To learn more, read this story about a book written by the Professional Migrant Women community: Undefeated: 90 migrant women share their stories.
Bookshop bar makes space for inclusive events
Beloved North Melbourne bookshop bar Willows & Wine is using its small business grant to create a hybrid space to host events, workshops and tastings skewed towards women and gender-diverse communities.
“The City of Melbourne grant has supported me to set up ‘Making Space’, to enable people to ‘make space’ for interests that are easily ignored in our busy schedules,” owner Amy Poonian said.
“Expect to see affordable events, unique classes and salons that introduce people to new and exciting skills and ideas in an awesome, chilled out library bar setting.”
To learn more about Willows & Wine, visit Bookshop bar set to grow.
Get a grant
Visit Small Business Grants to check your eligibility, read the grant guidelines and find additional support.
